Turkey to support Azerbaijan peace efforts, Erdogan tells Armenian PM
ISTANBUL, June 20 (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Friday and said Turkey will support Armenia's peace efforts with Azerbaijan, Erdogan's office said after the meeting in Istanbul.
At the rare bilateral visit, the two leaders also discussed possible steps for Turkey-Armenia normalization, the office said.
Pashinyan, writing on the X social media platform, said he had "an in depth exchange" with Erdogan.
"Discussed the Armenia–Türkiye normalization process, regional developments, and the importance of sustained dialogue," Pashinyan wrote. "Armenia remains committed to building peace and stability in our region."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
14 hours ago
- Reuters
Turkey to support Azerbaijan peace efforts, Erdogan tells Armenian PM
ISTANBUL, June 20 (Reuters) - President Tayyip Erdogan met Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Friday and said Turkey will support Armenia's peace efforts with Azerbaijan, Erdogan's office said after the meeting in Istanbul. At the rare bilateral visit, the two leaders also discussed possible steps for Turkey-Armenia normalization, the office said. Pashinyan, writing on the X social media platform, said he had "an in depth exchange" with Erdogan. "Discussed the Armenia–Türkiye normalization process, regional developments, and the importance of sustained dialogue," Pashinyan wrote. "Armenia remains committed to building peace and stability in our region."
BBC News
17 hours ago
- BBC News
'Everyone is scared': Iranians head to Armenia to escape conflict with Israel
It's hot, dusty and feels like a desert at the Agarak border crossing between Armenia and are dry, rocky mountains surrounding the area - no trees, no shade. It's not the most welcoming terrain, especially for those who have travelled long hours to reach Armenia.A woman with a fashionable haircut, with the lower half of her head shaven, is holding her baby, while her husband negotiates a price with taxi drivers. There's another family of three with a little boy travelling back to their country of residence, of those crossing into Armenia appeared to have residency or citizenship in other countries. Many were leaving because of the conflict between Israel and Iran, now in its eighth day. "Today I saw one site where the bombing happened," said a father standing with a small child near the minivan that they just hired. They had travelled from the north-western town of Tabriz."All the people are scared, every place is dangerous, it's not normal," he conflict began on 13 June, when Israel attacked nuclear and military sites as well as some populated areas. The Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) - a Washington-based human rights organisation that has long tracked Iran - says 657 people have so far been killed. Iran has retaliated with missile attacks on Israel, killing at least 24 says it has established air superiority over Tehran and has told people to leave some of its districts. In recent days, heavy traffic jams have formed on roads out of the city as some of its 10 million residents seek safety who drove to Armenia from Tehran said the journey had taken at least 12 hours. Several told us that they did not see the Israeli strikes - but heard the sound of explosions they caused."It was troubling there. Every night, attacks from Israel. I just escaped from there by very hard way. There were no flights, not any other ways come from there," said a young Afghan man with a single suitcase, who did not want to be described the situation in Tehran as "very bad". "People who have somewhere to go, they are leaving. Every night is like attacking, people cannot sleep, because of the sounds of explosions, the situation is not good at all," he said. A young woman with white headscarf and thick fake lashes said she was heading back to her country of residence, Australia."I saw something that is very hard, I don't want to talk about it," she said as she boarded a car with several others for the onward journey to the Armenian capital Yerevan. "Someone comes and attacks your country, would you feel normal?"Some Israeli ministers have talked up the possibility that the conflict could lead to regime collapse in Iran. But Javad - who had been visiting the north-eastern city of Sabzevar for the summer holidays and was heading back to Germany - said he thought this was unlikely."Israel has no chance. Israel is not a friend for us, it's an enemy," he said. "Israel cannot come to our home to help us. Israel needs to change something for itself not for us." Some Iranians at the border however were crossing were travelling in the other direction. The previous evening, Ali Ansaye, who had been holidaying in Armenia with his family, was heading back to Tehran."I have no concerns, and I am not scared at all. If I am supposed to die, I will die in my country," he said. He said Israel was "harassing the entire world – Gaza, Lebanon and other countries"."How can such a small country have nuclear weapons?" he asked. "Based on which law can this country have a bomb, and Iran, which has only focused on peaceful nuclear energy and not a bomb, cannot?"Israel is widely believed to have nuclear weapons, although it neither confirms nor denies this.
The Independent
21 hours ago
- The Independent
Erdogan vows to boost Turkey's missile production as Israel-Iran war escalates
As the war between Israel and Iran escalates, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said he plans to strengthen the country's deterrence capabilities so that no country would dare attack it. Erdogan announced plans this week to step up Turkey's production of medium- and long-range missiles. Erdogan discussed the Iran-Israel war with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in a telephone call on Friday. He told Merz that the Iranian nuclear issue can only be resolved through negotiations, according to Erdogan's office. Despite Turkey's tense relations with Israel, analysts and officials don't see an immediate threat of the conflict spreading into NATO-member Turkey. Still, some see the move by Erdogan as a sign that the Israel-Iran war could trigger a new arms race in the region, with countries not directly involved in the fray ramping up their military efforts to preempt future conflicts. Ahmet Kasim Han, a professor of international relations at Istanbul's Beykoz University, said that Turkey was reacting to what he described as an unraveling world order. 'The Turkish government is drifting toward what is the name of the game in the Middle East right now: an escalation of an arms race,' he said. Israel and the U.S. have set a high standard in aerial warfare, creating a technological gap that Turkey and others are eager to close, Han said. Erdogan said following a Cabinet meeting on Monday that 'we are making production plans to bring our medium- and long-range missile stockpiles to a level that ensures deterrence, in light of recent developments." 'God willing, in the not-too-distant future, we will reach a defense capacity that is so strong that no one will even dare to act tough toward us," Erdogan said. In an separate address days later, the Turkish leader highlighted Turkey's progress in its domestically developed defense industry, that includes drones, fighter jets, armored vehicles and navy vessels, but stressed that continued effort was needed to ensure full deterrence. 'Although Turkey has a very large army — the second largest in NATO — its air power, its air defense is relatively weaker,' said Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, a Turkey analyst at the German Marshall Fund think tank. The ongoing conflict has reinforced the importance of air superiority, including missiles and missile defense systems, prompting 'countries in the region, including Turkey to strengthen its air power,' he said. Since the start of the conflict, Erdogan has been scrambling to end the hostilities. He has held a flurry of phone calls with leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, offering to act as a 'facilitator' for the resumption of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program. There are deep concerns in Turkey that a prolonged conflict will cause energy disruptions and lead to refugee movement from Iran, with which it shares a 560 kilometer-long (348 mile) border. Turkey relies heavily on energy imports, including from Iran, and rising oil prices due to the conflict could aggravate inflation and further strain its troubled economy. Turkey has strongly criticized Israel's actions, saying Iran has the legitimate right to defend itself against Israel's attacks, which came as nuclear negotiations were ongoing. Once close allies, Turkey and Israel have grown deeply estranged, especially after the start of the war in Gaza in 2023, with Erdogan becoming one of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's fiercest critics. Relations further deteriorated following the fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, as Israel grew increasingly wary of expanding Turkish influence in Syria. Earlier this year, Turkey and Israel however, established a 'de-escalation mechanism' aimed at preventing conflict between their troops in Syria. The move came after Syria's Foreign Ministry said that Israeli jets had struck a Syrian air base that Turkey reportedly hoped to use. Israel hasn't commented on Turkey's announcement that it plans to ramp up missile production, but Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar responded to Erdogan's criticisms of Israel over its attack on Iran in an X post on Wednesday. He accused Erdogan of having 'imperialist ambitions' and of having 'set a record in suppressing the freedoms and rights of his citizens, as well as his country's opposition.' Erdogan's nationalist ally, Devlet Bahceli, suggested that Turkey was a potential target for Israel, accusing the country of strategically 'encircling' Turkey with its military actions. He didn't elaborate. Analysts say, however, that such statements were for 'domestic consumption' to garner support amid growing anti-Israel sentiment in Turkey. 'I don't think that Israel has any interest in attacking Turkey, or Turkey has any interest in a conflict with Israel,' Han said.
